March 11th, 2020

The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tōhoku is often referred to in Japan as the Great East Japan Earthquake Higashi; the 2011 Tohoku earthquake; and the 3.11 Earthquake. It was a magnitude of 9.0 (Mw) undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 2:46 JST on Friday, March 11, 2011 with the epicenter approximately 42 miles east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku and the hypocenter at an underwater depth of approximately 19 miles. It was the most powerful known earthquake ever to have hit Japan, and the fifth most powerful earthquake in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves that reached massive heights. The earthquake moved Honshu (the main island of Japan) 8 feet east and shifted the Earth on its axis by estimates of between 4 and 10 inches.

Source: www.britannica.com/event/Japan-earthquake-and-tsunami-of-2011